by Phillis Gershator
Miss Tiny is not really so tiny. She is so big and strong that it keeps her from getting married. Nobody wants to marry her because she makes them feel weak and useless. Well, that is until she meets Mr. Bigman, a tiny, weak little man who moves to the island.
I never liked women's lib stories for children. The promotion of the powerful woman at the expense of the weak man seems a bit like a childish competition to me. When M says to R, "I'm faster than you," I always say, "It's not a competition. It does not matter how fast you did something, what matters is that you did it in the first place." If you need to make someone else feel weak in order to feel strong, then there's a problem.
However, this story really isn't about the promotion of the strong and powerful woman at the expense of man. It is really just a sweet love story about a woman who loves to help others and how she finds her perfect match.
I love the cadence of this story. I can't help but fall into a little bit of an accent myself as I read outloud to the kids. And I'm not one for accents, yet this book just begs for it.
The pictures are colorful, illustrating a world and a culture that my kids have never experienced. Books are the road to experience new things, and this book brings that to life.
At the end, I always repeat the words from the story, "...kiss, kiss, kiss her on her soft brown cheek," and give them all hugs and kisses. Then they beg me to read it all again.
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